WASHINGTON – Official Web sites that serve the congressional offices of Democrats John Boccieri of Alliance, Steve Driehaus of Cincinnati and Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville were hacked on Wednesday night by a prankster who replaced their regular content with crude anti-Obama graffiti. They were taken offline while repairs were performed.
Forty-nine congressional Web sites were attacked, according to Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives. They serve members from both political parties and several congressional committees. All are serviced by an Arlington, Va., vendor called GovTrends.
Ventura said the sites appear to have been hacked while the company opened a “portal of vulnerability” during an upgrade. Last summer, 18 sites maintained by the company experienced a similar problem, he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and GOP Leader John Boehner of Ohio jointly asked Ventura’s boss to determine how hackers defaced the Web sites and “review the security standards for House vendors and to assess whether this vendor, and others, have adhered to these standards.”
According to National Journal’s “Hotline on Call,” which first reported the incident, the sites were all replaced with a single message shortly after President Obama’s State of the Union Address:
“F— OBAMA!! Red Eye CREW !!!!! O RESTO E HACKER!!! by HADES; m4V3RiCk; T4ph0d4 — FROM BRASIL,”
Ventura said no sensitive information was compromised by the breach. Service was restored to the affected web sites early Thursday evening.
“The whole purpose of a defacement is to inflict embarrassment and to show you could get away with it,” he said.
Ventura said House of Representatives’ officials are examining what can be done to be sure the incident isn’t repeated.
“Our Web site is an important tool for reaching out to constituents and having them contact us,” said Driehaus spokesman Tim Mulvey.
Article courtesy of: cleveland.com
